Reciprocal Altruism - what is that?

Some behaviours benefit others, with whom we have no genes in common, at some cost to ourselves. On the surface, this is difficult for evolutionary psychology to explain since evolutionary principles relate to the processes which lead to the likelihood of an individual surviving long enough to reproduce, and so pass on their genes to the next generation. However, Trivers has argued that this kind of altruistic behaviour may indirectly promote the survival of the individual because someone whi is helped may return this favour on a future occassion, i.e. reciprocal altuism.

This behaivour leaves open the possibility of cheating, i.e. accepting help but not offering help in return. Reciprocal altruism depends on the ability to detect non-reciprocation, and so could have played a critical role in the development of theory of mind, necessary for this skill.

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Defining Stereotype

A stereotype is a mental representation of a person which emphasises their group membership rather than individual characteristics. They are the consequence of cognitive processes which lead us to make overgeneralisations. This relates to schema theory, which suggests that we interpret new information in the light of our previous knowledge and experience. Stereotypes tend to be largely automatic, i.e. working below the level of conscious awareness, and may be instantly activated by physical characteristics, e.g. a skinhead may have assumed to be aggressive

Stereotypes tend to be self-confirming; we pick out information about a person which conforms to our stereotype, and not which challenges it, e.g. the Darley & Gross Hannah study found that participants who saw a video in which Hannah was portrayed as having high socioeconomic status judged her to have higher academic ability than those who saw a "low socioeconomic status" video. Information about academic ability was interpreted according to expectations based on socioeconomic stereotypes.

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Self-serving bias in psychology

The self-serving bias suggest that in attributing causes to behaviour, we attribute success to internal causes (e.g. I did well in the exam because I worked hard), and failure to external causes (e.g. family problems meant I didn't have enough time to revise). A content analysis by Lau & Russell of newspaper articles reporting baseball and football players' and managers' explanations of success and failure support this idea. However, though his study has high ecological validity, it may have been biased by the researchers' subjectivity.

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Self Actualization Flash Card

In humanistic psychology, self-actualization is a term in Maslow's theory of motivation. It refers to the drive towards self-fulfilment, to develop one's potential, and "to become everything that one is capable of becomming" (Maslow).

It is the higher level in Maslow's hierarchy of needs. While the lower levels - physiological, safety, love and belonging, and esteem - are deficiency needs which can be satisfied, Maslow called self-actualization a being need, whose expression is an end in itself. It is also a key concept in the work of Carl Rogers, and is relevant to his person-centered counseling.
How this need is expressed depends on the individual; for example this
could be artistic or athletic expression, or just being a good mother. Both Maslow
and Rogers believed that if the conditions are right,
self-actualization will occur spontaneously, though it is not clear
that this is necessarily the case.



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What is Personal Constructs?

Within Kelly's personal construct theory, which is an approach
to understanding conscious experience, personal constructs are ways in
which people make sense of their world. Constructs are bipolar, e.g. friendly - cold; or interesting - boring, and personal in that different people use different constructs.

An individual's pattern of constructs is uncovered using a repertory grid, which can also show the relationships
between the constructs used. A client is asked to think of specific
people who play a role in their personal life, e.g. father, boss, best
friend; these are known as elements. Different combinations of
three of these elements are then selected, and the client is asked to
say how any two are alike and the third is different. This is repeated
as long as the client is able to produce different constructs. Finally,
each element is given a numerical value for each construct. Where
similar values are given to elements across different constructs, it
suggests that these different constructs are being used in similar ways.

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What is Defence Mechanisms in Psychology

Defence mechanisms are part of our everyday life, and are not necessarily pathological, e.g. we may "forget" a dentist's appointment. There is some experimental evidence to support the idea of defence mechanisms, e.g. Myers & Brewin found that repressive copers were likely to have had troubled childhood relationships.

The idea that we use unconscious ways of coping with conflict is central to psychoanalytic theory, and is important in the therapy of psychoanalysis. Defences are seen as rooted in the individual's character and their past, and personality is believed to be in part related to the defence mechanisms a person typically uses.
 
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Psychodynamics - A short definition

In Freud's theories, psychodynamics refers to internal psychic conflict between different aspects of the self, and the defences used to deal with it. The self has three aspects: 

1. the id, which is concerned with biological needs and seeking pleasure;
2. the ego; which works on the reality principle, and is concerned with integrating the different parts of the self;
3. the superego or conscience, based on the introjection of the moral attitudes of others, particularly the father. This conflict is unconscious.

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DSE212 - Exploring Psychology

The DSE212 course is a daunting task especially taking in concideration that is the first subject for many students embarking on a degree in Psychology at the Open University.  I am updating relevant course content extracts and summaries as well as the all important exam terms on my Wiki.  For more information, have a look at http://www.mycyprusit-client.com/DSE212.ashx

New Psychology Wiki for Students

Studying psychology is not easy. There is a lot of work, a lot of names, terminology, experiments, theories and you name it to remember. To make it easier for myself, and hopefully others studying psychology, a new wiki was erected. Have a look at http://www.mycyprusit-client.com/